


Cry away

by Elisexyz



Category: Lost in Space (TV 2018)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Episode: s02e05 Run, Father-Daughter Relationship, Gen, Judy Robinson Needs A Hug And A Good Cry, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:54:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21986983
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elisexyz/pseuds/Elisexyz
Summary: “You know you don’t have to keep it together for me, right?”Coda to 2x05.
Relationships: John Robinson & Judy Robinson
Comments: 28
Kudos: 46





	Cry away

**Author's Note:**

> Am I too busy to be writing? Yep, absolutely. I'm so busy that I haven't even finished watching the season yet, but this episode emotionally compromised me and I needed to do something about it. I hope someone else will enjoy this too!

John is, frankly, struggling to keep up. He can barely trial off behind his kids and wife on a good day, but at the moment, with his head feeling abnormally light, the throbbing pain in his side not yet subdued and his back aching all over, because he’s definitely too old to fall into wells, he doesn’t stand a chance.

Judy seems full of erratic energy, moving around him like there’s fire under her feet and reminding him of when she was a kid and she only ever moved around the house by running from one room to the other.

“We need to send you to the Resolute, where you can get some rest—” she’s saying, the words rolling off her tongue so fast that they seem to get mixed together – or maybe that’s just John’s brain being slow for the uptake. “—I need to call Mom, god, she’s going to be so worried, maybe _you_ should call her, or we could do it together—” She moves closer, hands reaching over to his side but pulling back before she can touch him.

“Judy—” he tries to intervene, because she keeps talking and it feels like she might just start hyperventilating any minute, she is still covered in dirt and sweat and he is pretty sure she hasn’t stopped moving even for a second since saving his ass. She completely ignores him, maybe because his voice came out too soft.

“—Maybe I should just check your vitals again—”

“Judy!” he repeats, somehow louder. That seems to startle her enough that she stops talking for a minute, breathing unevenly as she looks up to him. “Hey, honey, just—” He takes a breath, trying to come up with a reassuring smile. “Just breathe for a second, alright?”

“I _am_ breathing,” she immediately protests, still frantic and shifting between one foot and the other.

He just raises his eyebrows.

Stubborn as she is, she holds his gaze for a few moments, but eventually she scoffs. “Fine,” she gives in, annoyed. “ _Fine_ , here—” She stands a little straighter, making a show of widening her arms as she takes a few deep breaths. She seems to choke a little on the last one, and John could swear that her eyes quickly filled with tears.

He gets a confirmation of that when she drops the brave façade, turning away from him, eyes on the ground as she swallows heavily and tries to breathe away the crying fit about to come.

He doesn’t doubt that she could work it out for herself, that she could stash it all away and do the job as the great doctor that she is, but no matter how fierce and dependable Judy is, how fast she grew up when he walked out on them, he is still her father, and he is there now. She doesn’t have to be strong all the time.

He reaches out, laying a light touch on her arm and managing to successfully bite back a groan of pain. She hesitates before looking up to him, but eventually glassy eyes find his, and something in his stomach twists painfully.

“You know you don’t have to keep it together for me, right?” he eventually asks, hopefully gentle and reassuring enough to let her know how much he _means_ it.

Judy presses her lips together, letting out a sharp breath as a tremor seems to go through her and more and more tears gather in her eyes. She sniffles, and for the first time in a while she looks so _small_.

“Dad—” she chokes out, strangled and wet as she blinks, letting tears roll down her cheeks in the same breath as she moves forward.

He readily opens up his arms, barely making a sound even as she barrels against him a little too forcefully and he sees stars for a moment, instead squeezing her tight and letting her settle against his shoulder. She suffocates her sobs in his shirt, her fingers digging into his back as she cries, and he can only cradle the back of her head, stroking her hair as he maybe leans on her a little too much, to stay upright. Hopefully, she doesn’t notice.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, I’m fine—” he keeps saying, reassurances rolling off his tongue easily, like it hasn’t been a day since Judy last crawled on his lap to look for protection from the monsters in the dark. “The worst has passed, hon, everything is fine—” he vows, his voice quivering a little as his vision wavers for a moment. He closes his eyes, taking a discreet breath.

Judy sobs harder, pressing herself more tightly against his shoulder. “I’m sorry,” she chokes out, barely audible and breaking his heart in more places than he knows how to count.

“Nonsense,” he protests, automatically, barely stopping to wonder if she means to apologize for crying, or for not getting to him sooner, or both—or whatever else. “You did so good,” he adds, gentler, because it’s important, because it’s true.

With the next sob, she accidentally hits him in his bad side, unexpectedly enough that it tears a grunt of pain out of him. Judy immediately shoots back, eyes puffy and red, tears all over her cheeks and a mortified expression on her face.

“Oh my god, Dad, I—shit, I’m so—so sorry, I—” she quickly says, wide eyes moving at the speed of light back and forth from his face, which he fears he’s failing at keeping neutral enough to ease her guilt, to his wound. “Shit, let me—let me take a look at that—” She tries to sound sure, but her voice keeps breaking and there are tears that keep falling, no matter how quickly she tries to wipe them away, and John curses himself for having ruined that little break that she had finally allowed for herself.

“Hey, hey, no, it’s okay, I’m fine,” he tries to say, voice still a little strained. He reaches out for her arms, trying to keep a solid enough hold that she can’t go look for medical equipment. “Just come here, yeah?” He pulls her in his direction, if gently, and though she still tries to keep it together she doesn’t oppose any resistance, one arm going up to his bicep as he circles her back, drawing her in to lay a kiss on her forehead.

“Thank you,” he says then, softly. “For saving my life.”

She presses her lips together, squeezing her eyes as her fingers clasp his shirt. “Thank you for holding on,” she says, barely a broken whisper.

 _I need you. I’m always gonna need you_.

He holds on a little tighter.

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of the [LLF Comment Project](https://longlivefeedback.tumblr.com/llfcommentproject), which was created to improve communication between readers and authors. This author invites and appreciates comments, including: 
> 
>   * Short comments
>   * Long comments
>   * Questions
>   * “<3” as extra kudos
>   * Reader-reader interaction
> 

> 
> If you don’t want a reply, for any reason, feel free to sign your comment with “whisper” and I will appreciate it but not respond!


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